After Vid walked off the stage, two strikingly attractive Wizards went up and began demonstrating how to use and the various features of the Communication Pea.
The sales event had many more segments lined up, but none of them had anything to do with Vid anymore.
Originally, for the sake of sales, there was supposed to be a wine reception afterward, where Vid, as the highly regarded Alchemist, could meet some people.
However, when Machioni asked for his opinion, Professor Morry directly helped him decline.
"Appearing publicly to this extent is already enough; those greedy merchants are the kind of people who exploit you the closer they get!"
Professor Morry spoke this in front of Machioni, who didn't realize at all that he was also a "greedy merchant", scratching his chin as he nodded.
"Yes... If they find out Vid is so easy-going, what if they trick you into signing some non-violable contracts?"
He said jokingly, "If Vid is abducted by some evil-minded adults, I'd have nowhere to cry!"
Vid was already impatient with handling such situations; upon hearing this, he immediately nodded, secretly heaving a sigh of relief in his heart.
At this moment, his speech was over, and the remaining time could be freely spent shopping with friends; Vid couldn't help his step from becoming lighter as he walked off the stage, lifted the curtain, and entered the backstage, only to suddenly pause.
Professor Morry looked at him with an exceptionally gratifying expression, his eyes faintly wet.
"Oh my, I really am so proud of you! It's truly wonderful! I can hardly believe it! To see you grow from someone so tiny into such a remarkable figure today... Your hard work and achievements make me feel indescribable joy and happiness; I feel all the hardship and effort are worth it..."
Machioni stood beside Professor Morry, speaking in an exaggerated tone, while wiping his eye corner with a small handkerchief, then blinked at Professor Morry:
"—Isn't this what you wanted to say, Professor? It's alright, don't be shy! Tell Vid straight out how touched you are... I've already demonstrated it for you, come on, start!"
Professor Morry's lips quivered for a moment as he yelled, "Go away!"
"As you command, sir!"
Machioni mockingly saluted, patting Vid's shoulder as he passed him, and said earnestly, "Today was truly amazing, Vid!"
Vid chuckled softly, "Thank you."
Machioni continued hosting his sales event, leaving Vid and Professor Morry alone backstage.
Watching his most outstanding student, Professor Morry's eyebrows relaxed, a slight smile curled at his lips, and joy inadvertently flowed from his brows and eyes.
Originally, he did have a belly full of things to say, but they were stuck in his throat, not knowing what to say first; after Machioni's interruption, his emotions became much calmer.
"Although Machioni is a jerk, he wasn't wrong about one thing—" Professor Morry paused before saying, "I am truly proud of you, child."
"Thank you for your affirmation, Professor," Vid nodded slightly and said earnestly, "I will certainly not let your expectations down."
Professor Morry looked at the teenager whose height was nearly at his chin, feeling numerous emotions wanting to pat his head, but after raising his hand, hesitated and finally placed it on his shoulder.
"You have already achieved accomplishments enough to surpass me, but ahead lies a broader landscape. You must maintain this enthusiasm and continue working hard, don't let midway temptations trip you up."
"Yes," Vid replied.
"Speaking of which, why did you change the latter part of your speech?" Professor Morry asked, "I remember you originally prepared it to be more straightforward."
"Uh... there were quite a few people, I momentarily forgot my lines," Vid said embarrassedly, "I was worried about a dead silence, so I simply talked about the design ideas."
Professor Morry laughed, "There were quite a few colleagues sitting below! I was about to go up and interrupt your talk; luckily, you didn't reveal the most crucial part."
As for his performance facing this big situation for the first time, Professor Morry was already very satisfied, and this little mishap didn't bother him.
Moreover, while Vid's speech might have been somewhat unfriendly to the audience, it proved he had genuine talent, and judging by the overall audience reaction afterward, Professor Morry still felt it was a successful speech.
"Alright, your friends are still waiting for you, right?" Professor Morry said affectionately, "Go quickly! Lest you get entangled by some annoying people."
…
Vid felt a bit guilty when he walked out from the venue's back door.
Because when saying goodbye, Professor Morry cast a spell to unlock the door, Vid saw his Magic Wand, and suddenly remembered that he still had Professor Morry's original Magic Wand.
Speaking of which, when returning from the island last time, it was actually a good time to return the wand. But the scene of Mabel suddenly turning into Obscurus was too impactful, Vid was so busy that he forgot about that.
However, thinking about the group sitting in the venue, Vid's heart settled again.
I'll surely meet them again eventually... I'll just find a suitable time to return it then...
…
For these few years, Aslan Magic Workshop's business had grown larger, bringing changes to many places, but Gringotts remained unchanged all the while.
Having gathered with Lupin and others, Vid arrived at the only bank in the Magic World. They each planned to take out some pocket money, and Harry was going to exchange some Pounds Sterling.
Lupin is now renting a vault at Gringotts as well; due to the high shares Vid opened for him, his vault has accumulated quite a pile of Golden Galleons and Silver Sickles.